Looking for a gig? You’re in the right place

We're one of the best cities for jobs

Wednesday, January 4th, 2017

It’s a new year, and for some of us that means maybe it’s a time for some changes.

Maybe that means more exercise. Or maybe it means giving up some bad habits. And maybe that means some of us are looking for a fresh start — like, say, a fresh start that comes with a paycheck, benefit package and new commute.

If you’re on the hunt for a new job in 2017, you’re in luck — just by living here.

A new study from WalletHub ranked Fort Wayne as one of the best cities in the country for jobs, placing us at about 15th out of the 150 most populated cities when it comes to a host of factors such as job market strength, socioeconomic environment, job opportunities and cost of living.

The study ranks Fort Wayne third in highest employment growth, first in most affordable housing and comes at a time when the national unemployment rate has fallen to 4.6 percent — the lowest it has been in roughly a decade.

“(The job market) is likely to be stronger in 2017, regardless of what policies Congress and the Trump administration decide on,” said Geoffrey Carliner, a lecturer or economics at Boston University, in the study. “Job growth in the next 10 to 20 years is likely to be in the same sectors of the economy as in the past 20 years — health care, retail and wholesale, other services.”

Occupational therapy assistant, physical therapy assistant, home health aide and nurse practitioners will be among the fastest growing professions during the next seven or so years. Pick a local job board, type in some of those professions and you’ll see a plethora of results locally.

“The U.S. population is aging and people are living longer with health problems,” said Kuzey Yilmaz, an assistant professor in the department of economics at Cleveland State University, when speaking to WalletHub about health care being one of the fastest growing fields in the country.

And if you’re into wind turbines, the number of wind turbine service technicians is expected to jump about 108 percent during that tim, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, making it the fastest growing job in the United States.

Despite the growth and bright numbers, the job market can be tough, some of the experts said in the WalletHub story. If you’re currently unemployed, volunteering will help you with any gaps in your resume, which is becoming harder to overcome.

With a little, grit, a lot of perseverance and some faith, a new start can be just around the corner. Especially here. We’re a great place for jobs.